La Ron S. Readus
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Which Batman Villain Would Christopher Lee Be? (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2021-03-31 20:01:01 +0000 UTCYeah, I got this video idea from a Tweet I produced months ago. Big whoop; wanna fight about it?
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Readers, the practice of continuing a movie or television series in the form of a comic book series has been a thing since...before the one good thing Joss Whedon decided to do with his life.
And shows and movies based on characters from DC Comics were no exception to this treatment.
Proof of this is with Batman 66, which continued the camply mid 60’s adventures of the live-action Batman series starring Adam West
And who could forget the comic book continuation...of Clark’s Creek.
But in February 2021, news broke out about two more DC cinematic experiences getting a comic book extension. Richard Donner’s Superman, and Tim Burton’s Batman
/Respectively called Superman ‘78 and Batman ‘89, the digital first books will be exploring stories told after Superman: The Movie, and both Batman and Batman Returns. In which the latter will be written by Sam Hamm -- the screenwriter of the gothic classics himself!/
And with Hamm returning, that means a lot of us Burton Batman fans are finally gonna get a chance to see story elements we always wanted to before the late Joel Schumacher and writers Lee and Janet Scott Batchler replace Burton and Hamm for Batman Forever
Including the debut of Billy-Dee Williams Two-Face, a Burtonverse Robin and the possible return of Michelle Pfeifer’s Selina Kyle that was teased at the end of Batman Returns.
Now, if you’ve seen my video essay celebrating the 30 year anniversary of Batman 1989, then you know that everything I just uttered is EXACTLY my cup of tea
I doubt it’s going to be the initial version of Batman Forever that Sam and Tim initially planned for the third movie, but considering that at least the first arc is gonna cover some loose ends the Schumacher films either never covered or completely rewrote, I’m down for when this is released late July of 2021.
But, with the news dropping that we’re gonna be returning to this version of Gotham in comic book form, it got me thinking:
Let’s for the fun of it pretend Warner Brothers let Tim Burton and Sam Hamm collab on more Batman movies after Returns.
By now, we know Tim Burton’s evolution of his style. But more specifically, we know his go-to actors and actresses that more than likely would’ve shown up.
Those performers are Johnny Depp, his at-the-time partner Helena Bonham Carter, and the late great Christopher Lee
And while trying to figure out who Johnny and Helena would end up be portraying next to Michael Keaton’s Batman is a task in its OWN right, I feel that casting Christopher Lee -- who was in his late 60’s around the time the third Batman movie was in pre-production -- would be a challenge on it’s own accord.
Especially since as one of the grandfather’s of horror and one of Tim Burton’s cinematic idols alongside Vincent Price -- who died after Edward Scissorhands -- it would be safe to assume he would more than likely be portrayed as a villain
So which Batman villain would Christopher Lee have played if Burton and Hamm were still making the movies?
Now I asked this question to my followers on Twitter, MONTHS before DC Comics made the announcement of continuing Tim and Sam’s Batman universe in comic book form. And the two most popular answers made...so much sense, you wouldn't even KNOW
So let’s start with this one. Out of ALL the villains Christopher Lee could’ve played in another Tim Burton directed Batman movie, one of them could’ve been Hugo Strange.
Not only do I think Hugo’s mad scientist angle would be a VERY appropriate callback to Lee’s horror days, especially if one of the comic inspirations for the story was the Giants of Hugo Strange.
The story is the second of four in Batman issue 1, and his first appearance since showing up in Detective Comics #36. In it, Hugo experiments with a bunch of inmates in Arkham that turn them into 10-foot tall Monster Men that wreak havoc on Gotham, and it’s up to Batman to stop him.
That story got got HUGELY expanded upon and fleshed out by Matt Wagner in 2006, who wrote the six-part “Batman & the Monster Men” as the first arc of two in his Dark Moon Rising duology in 2006 -- the second being Batman & The Mad Monk -- retelling a couple of Batman’s first real bouts with metahumans and supernatural villains in his career set during Frank Miller’s Year One continuity.
/But even just comparing the character to the stories we actually got before Nolan’s trilogy, the angle of Hugo learning Batman’s true identity that’s utilized in every comic, video game and animated series adaptation of the character plays SO WELL with Edward Nigma’s plot device The Box from Batman Forever!/
It almost makes me wish that the Dark Moon Rising series existed during that time, because both Batman & the Monster Men and the second story Batman & the Mad Monk could honestly be combined into a pretty amazing story that I could definitely see Burton and Hamm having fun adapting on screen.
Keeping Lee’s version of Hugo Strange the main villain would’ve been easy for Hamm to handle instead of forcing him to share screen time with the Monk, considering Hugo’s creation of the Monster Men and the Monk’s motive to create an army of Werewolf women are very similar to each other.
Honestly, if I were doing it, I’d make the Mad Monk be the “patient zero” responsible for Hugo creating the Monster Men serum, give Hugo the Monk’s Hungarian castle and have the Monk be one of Hugo’s strongest thralls, since the Mad Monk is literally a vampire.
It would’ve given Tim Burton a LOT to work with regarding gothic tones and settings. Definitely similar to how macabre certain set pieces and designs were in the Sleepy Hollow movie he made in 1999.
/Like, imagine the castle in question being a hybrid style of the Headless Horseman tree and the Inventor’s house from Edward Scissorhands. That would’ve been RIGHT up Burton’s alley!/
Speaking of which, I could definitely picture Lee taking inspiration for his Hugo Strange from Colin Clive’s portrayal of Henry Frankenstein from the Universal Pictures production of the story in 1931.
God, the more I think about it, the more I wish this actually happened. And this isn’t even my DREAM casting for a Burton Batman movie with Christopher Lee!
Because the villain I would’ve LOVED to have seen him play in a Burton directed Hamm written Batman movie...is Ra’s Al Ghul
Now I know that people would immediately go to his portrayal of Sarumon in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy as to why he would’ve been a perfect Ra’s. And trust me; I agree.
But there are two more during his younger years that I would immediately add to his portfolio; Fancisco Scaramango from the Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun, and, of course, his portrayal of Dracula in the Hammer horror film series.
/Lee’s Dracula had the gravity, poise and the presence that I usually associate with Ra’s ever since I was initially introduced to him, and Lee’s Scaramanga has the confidence, attitude and arrogance./
/Add that to his more recent villainous roles before his passing like the previously mentioned Sarumon and even Count Dooku from the Star Wars prequels, and Christopher Lee would’ve been the PERFECT live-action equivalent to David Warner’s portrayal of him in Batman: The Animated Series/
Now I know that some people are wondering, so let me address this:
Yes. I completely understand that one of the things people couldn’t stand regarding Nolan’s version of the character in Batman Begins was that he was depicted as a white man instead of Arabic
I also know that what I previously stated both reinforces the unpopular opinion of white people playing roles initially made for people of color, and somewhat goes against my belief of being fine with racial fluidity in certain roles if their ethnicity and background aren’t key aspects in their character, and Ra’s being Arabic is indeed part of his character.
This casting choice was based on the standards of Hollywood as they were in the early 90’s, when a third Batman movie written by Sam Hamm and directed by Tim Burton would’ve actually happened. And if you think the practice of Hollywood letting white folk claim roles for people of color is bad NOW, let me tell you that it was a COMPLETELY different beast back then.
The best that we could hope for back then was that whichever white actor got said role, they had the pedigree to make that bitch OUTSTANDING.
And if Burton and Hamm were able to make another Batman flick with Ra’s as a villain, casting Christopher Lee would’ve definitely been the best case scenario.
But that’s not to say that he couldn't have played other Batman villains and knock those performances out of the water. Another one that was suggested and that I can definitely see is...Victor Fries.
Like, could you IMAGINE??
As a matter of fact, THAT’S your homework assignment for the day, Readers!
Write in the comment section below which villain YOU think Christopher Lee would’ve played if Tim Burton and Sam Hamm were given the opportunity to make another Batman film before his passing.
Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, a Batman role you can see another one of Burton’s go-to actors playing if given the same opportunity.
Whichever you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.
